Condy

The Barony of Condy

Condy's lowland is mostly fertile and well-watered river valley, rising to sandy soil and foothills to the south, where only sheep find suitable pasture, while the north is well-drained rolling grassland, mostly parselled out into farms. To the north the barony grows less fertile, and borders on the Wasteland Forest.

The farms of Condy grow fine crops of grain, legumes, vegetables and fruit. Condy exports fine port wines and brandies - the Condy pear brandy is particularily well regarded.Condy normally sells its food surplus to Dephille and Naras (to a lesser extent). The year of 6589, however, Condy would be lucky to feed its own after the soldiers have taken their share.

Condy is very strongly garissoned, currently held by several thousand (nominally) Archducal soldiers. Its inhabitants fear outright war, as Condy will most likely be the site of some very heavy fighting. Already, foraging parties from both sides are plundering the countryside. The defenders are living of the land while they keep the forces of Gronne-Base from invading, and make premptive raids down the valley. The main encampment is at Vàdère, but lesser strongpoints are at Tour Gârpase in Terfer and the well-defended castle Bludunôr

The Barony of Condy has changed hands repeatedly over the centuries, and has variously been on the hands of either of the four counts of Gronne-Base, Gronne-Haute, Sontelle and Tartor. It has come to its lieges by conquest, by marriage or by decree. Now it is under Tartor, the vassalage given to a Count for his services to the Crown.

The large town of Vàdère (population 5600, down from 6800 before the plagues) is the main settlement in the barony, and the baronial seat. For a thousand years or more, there has been a walled settlement on the northern bank of the river Gronne, which floats broad and languid here. The Cargans built a mighty bridge across the Gronne at the old ferry point, and the Baron of Condy collects tolls both from traffic across the river and on it - the narrow Cargan arches stall the barge traffic along the river. The river is about 300 yards wide at Vàdére, and the bridge spans it in 14 arcs, ranging from 15 to 30 yards in width..

Cargan invaders razed most of Vàdère, the rectangular street plan they laid out on top of the ruins endures to this day, more or less. While it may be very eulocistic, the straight streets running north south gives the winterly northern wind an extra chill.

The common people may quench their thirst in Longshore Street ("Sjauarstredet"), which runs just inside the southern city wall, catering to travellers of road and river. These days, Longshore Street is overrun with soldiers, and the athmosphere there, always rowdy, has grown positively anarchic

The old Cargan city wall hedges in the burgh, the city has no reall foulburgh, only scattered houses and farmsteads.

Chateau Condy sits at the western side of town, overlooking the bridge. It is a mighty castle, which has suffered several sieges and been improved by victors more than once. However, beyond a wet moat and the river to the south, the terrain adds little to its defensibility. The castle is built primarily from sandstone quarried further upriver, with some brickwork. The outer walls are tall, deep and in part cribworked. Wet ground settling has given the walls some peculiarities, and there is of course the famous Drunkard Tower, slanting visibly out over the river.As befits the Barony, the castle has a fine and most famous wine cellar. Due to the high water table, the cellar is not particularily deep, though.

Back to Tartor